Reporting from the Atlantic Health Jets Center in Florham Park, NJ—For better or for worse, the New York Jets will go as far as Justin Fields takes them this season.
After signing a two-year, $40 million deal to be the organization’s starting quarterback in 2025, Fields has been thrust into the leadership role immediately since walking into the halls of 1 Jets Drive.
As part of that, he must also learn a new offense under play-caller Tanner Engstrand and meet some new teammates along the way. It’s not an easy list of things to do for a quarterback also trying to prove that the last four seasons of his career are not the norm.
With a month of workouts now completed, let’s assess Justin Fields’ progress (or lack thereof) as the New York Jets quarterback.
Jets QB update
From the moment he signed to be the Jets’ starting quarterback, Fields has seemingly won over his coaching staff and teammates overnight.
Head coach Aaron Glenn has routinely touted the signal-caller’s abilities and leadership as reasons why he is pleased with his starter.
“I’m happy to have him as my quarterback; he’s going to be a good player for us,” Glenn stated Tuesday at the Atlantic Health Jets Center in Florham Park, NJ.
Those sentiments were echoed just moments later by free agent wide receiver Josh Reynolds. The former Detroit Lions receiver lauded Fields for his leadership and raw skills.
By that mark, Fields has passed his first test with flying colors. His teammates respect him, the organization believes in him, and the offense is being created to favor his skill set.
That is just half the battle with Fields, though.
Fields has struggled as a passer through his first four years in the NFL as a former first-round pick. While his completion percentage has improved each year he has been in the league, the main detractors of his game have been that he holds the ball too long and is too slow a processor.
New York believes it can get some of that out of him—at least in a more optimistic way than the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers tried to over the last few years.
Has Fields shown an improvement in that area during OTAs?
Sometimes.
There are moments throughout practices where Fields looks like a legitimate starting quarterback. His arm strength remains unquestioned, and when he knows where to go with the football, that arm has enough zip to get there.
Two particular plays during OTAs in the last couple of weeks stand out with that.
On one play, Fields was blitzed at the line of scrimmage but hung in the pocket to deliver a timely ball over the middle of the field. A play prior, he was able to bail out of the pocket and delivered a completed pass to Garrett Wilson along the sideline.
That kind of quarterback play is in there; he just hasn’t been consistent enough, which is another common trend throughout his first four seasons.
A better example of those struggles was seen on Tuesday. Fields looked indecisive at times and held onto the ball longer than expected. There were times he did not see open players running down the field, instead opting to check the ball down.
There can be an easy explanation for that, though.
Fields is learning a new offense.
The young quarterback is working with new teammates for the first time. OTAs are the time to hold onto the ball a bit longer than normal, because he wants to make sure he’s making the right checks and reads across the line of scrimmage.
All of this makes sense. After all, it’s far too early to draw concern for a quarterback when pads aren’t on.
The issue, though, is that the same concerns Fields has had over his career are still present with the Jets. This raises concerns about whether he can actually be the kind of quality starting quarterback New York needs.
Can Justin Fields improve?
The Jets believe they can make a quality starting quarterback out of Fields, especially given Engstrand’s play-calling abilities.
“Everybody talks about the running—well, the guy’s got an arm, too, and he does a great job with that,” Engstrand said of Fields. “Mentally, he’s phenomenal. He’s been absolutely phenomenal so far, and we expect more out of that.”
Can Fields be that quarterback for the Jets, though?
The numbers are not kind.
He has completed just 56.1% of his passes in the fourth quarter throughout his career—worst in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 200 fourth-quarter pass attempts over that span.
In order to be successful, Fields will need to show he can read defenses faster than he historically has while delivering the ball accurately down the field. Sometimes, he’s done precisely that over the last few weeks of Jets OTA practices.
Those plays also come with an overly patient approach, though.
Through a month of offseason workouts, Fields has been what he was with the Bears and Steelers. He has the potential to be a very good player on this Jets team when you add his running ability into the mix.
But he needs to be far more consistent and decisive as a passer if he is to prove New York’s faith in him isn’t misplaced.
As with most teams in this predicament (having a new quarterback with a rookie play-caller), the New York Jets still have a lot of work to do with their offense.
Justin Fields is at the top of that list.
“OTAs are the time to hold onto the ball a bit longer than normal …” No. OTAs are THE time to make mistakes. ESPECIALLY, when trying to pick up a new offense. The best way to learn is by learning from your mistakes. When you see a decision ends up being wrong, unless you’re a complete imbecile, you LEARN from that and come to understand not only the right decision, but WHY it is the right decision. The fact that Fields is out there too afraid to make a mistake when he has every excuse in the world TO make… Read more »